Sunday Snippet: Healing the Wound

Whew. Rough week. The nasty cold bit down hard, and I struggled to get through any and everything. I think I finally kicked the worst of it yesterday. Got a solid eight hours of sleep and only woke up twice coughing. The three days before? Only got two to three hours of sleep at a time before the coughing fits would wake me up and I couldn't get back to sleep. Not fun.

The tire drama is finally at an end. Now it's on to brakes for my car. That's still going to be a November problem.

We got our first cold snap and finally had to turn the furnace on today. I'm usually good until the interior of the house hits the low sixties. Woke to sixty-two degrees and, yeah, kicked the thermostat to heat. Pretty sure we'll be back in the seventies by the middle of the week and I'll turn it off again … hopefully until November.

Work projects were rough this week, mainly because of my cold. The whole fuzzy bunny slippers in my head feeling doesn't match well with trying to read words and edit manuscripts. I did finish up a proofread and started a copy edit. I also reviewed the opening chapters of a manuscript for a potential new client. I have an evaluation I need to work on and should be able to start hitting that one hard this week.

Had a semi-okay viewing week. I didn't make it all the way through my regular slate of shows because of the aforementioned cold, but I got most of the way through.

Started with Marple and I'm warming up to the new actress playing the role. She's not quite as snappy as the previous actress but she embodies Jane just the same.

Watched another episode of Britain's Most Scenic Counties and enjoyed the various stops in Cheshire. If I had to pick between Kent and Cheshire, I'd lean toward Kent, but Cheshire is gaining momentum.

Caught an episode of Return to Paradise and I can honestly say this season is kind of knocking it out of the park. The emotional upheaval of Mac being back in Paradise Cove is so well done. I love her interactions with Philomena are amazing.

Enjoyed another episode of Poirot and continue to love his friendship with Ariadne. I think I have two episodes left of this version of the show. Looking forward to those.

Elementary had another great episode. I'm enjoying the way the show is weaving in outside elements to the case and tying them together.

I also did some binge watching of Death in Paradise per usual. Sometimes it's nice to have a comfort show on in the background.

That's it for the life update this week. Tonight's post is from Healing the Wound, a novella that puts a bit of a roadblock into a couple's journey for their happily ever after.

Here's the miniblurb:

Jenna Creed loses the love of her life and blames Thorp Waggoner. She needs to stop living in the past and Thorp wants to be the man she moves forward with, which means Jenna has a very big problem.

And a sneaky peek…

Thorp scrubbed a hand over his face. "Six weeks in this hellhole and we finally get the call to head back." His biggest problem? "Too bad the enemy had a month and a half to boobytrap the terrain between here and the egress point." His gaze scrutinized the map on the table.

Mick entered the armored transport-turned-makeshift base of operations. "I got the updated chart with tentative hot spots." He placed a rolled parchment on the surface.

After unrolling, Thorp glanced up. "What's your assessment?" He trusted Mick's opinion on the placement of improvised explosive devices.

Mick shrugged. "Gonna be a bitch to get out of here … but there's one clear path, if my estimations are good." His finger traced a winding route through the desert scrub between their temporary camp and the mid-sized city, which would be their egress.

Thorp pointed to a section where Handler had a series of black hash marks. "Is this what I think it is?" The placement indicated string of IEDs along a perimeter of the closest village's entrance road.

Mick nodded. "Yeah. Pretty damn bold to basically fuck anyone trying to enter or leave by this route." He frowned and heaved a sigh.

Thorp shook his head. "We can't leave live devices behind. Right now, they have our protection. When we leave, that's done." He tapped a staccato on the page weighing their options.

Mick shifted on his feet. "Don't have time to defuse all of them. But … if my guess is right, we only need to take out one." His boots creaked on the metal floor.

Thorp let out a grunt. "What are the odds? I mean how sure are you that disarming one will cancel out the others?" Big risk to take and not get it right.

Handler lifted shoulder. "'Bout ninety percent." He jabbed a finger at the X farthest from the road. "Not here. Pretty sure if we go about three in, we'll cover the chain."

Thorp met Handler's gaze. "This can't be done during daylight. That means someone will have to stay behind and make their way to the egress on their own." Only two people in the unit had the skill to pull off both disarming and getting to their extraction zone.

Mick gave a nod. "Gimme the order, sir. I can make this happen."

The responsibility didn't sit well with Thorp … but the pullout would leave the villagers in a shitty position. Mick had the ability, and he'd proven to be a valuable asset on this operation. In fact, Thorp respected the hell out of the man Mick had become.

They'd never be best friends because of their shared past. And Mick had the one thing Thorp never would.

Jenna Creed.

The thought didn't stab as hard as Thorp thought it would. But it did prick against his skin. What might have been resided in his head sometimes. Usually late at night when he wondered if he'd chosen the right path.

Mick cleared his throat. "Sir? Clock's ticking." He arched his brows.

Thorp lifted his chin. "You've got the order. We'll hold extraction for twelve hours unless we get word from you." That would give Handler time to defuse and make tracks.

Mick's lips twitched. "If I fail, you'll know. Won't be any way to muffle the explosion." He snapped to attention. "Twelve hours. See you on the ride home." He saluted and headed out of the transport.

Thorp scanned the parchment and uploaded the image to the dashboard of the vehicle. He gave the signal for everyone to get aboard then made his way to the front so he could collapse the enclosures and secure the equipment. Once his team were in their seats, he motioned for the driver to head out.

He also sent a positive thought out to the universe. The unknown always made him uneasy and the last-minute change of plan made his shoulders itch.

This one is taking some unexpected turns and I'm here for them.

 

That's it for this week. Catch everyone on the flipside.

ML Skye